A compilation of platforms and weapons, the three legs of the U. Up to Minuteman III missiles make up the most responsive leg of the nuclear triad. America's ICBM force has remained on continuous, around-the-clock alert since The Minuteman is a strategic weapon system using a ballistic missile of intercontinental range.
Missiles are dispersed in hardened silos to protect against attack and connected to an underground launch control center through a system of hardened cables. Launch crews, consisting of two officers, perform around-the-clock alerts in the launch control center. A variety of communication systems provide the president and secretary of defense with highly reliable, virtually instantaneous direct contact with each launch crew. Should command capability be lost between the launch control center and remote missile launch facilities, specially configured E-6B airborne launch control center aircraft automatically assume command and control of the isolated missile or missiles.
Fully qualified airborne missile combat crews aboard airborne launch control center aircraft would execute the president's orders. The Minuteman weapon system was conceived in the late s and Minuteman I was deployed in the early s. Minuteman was a revolutionary concept and an extraordinary technical achievement.
Both the missile and basing components incorporated significant advances beyond the relatively slow-reacting, liquid-fueled, remotely controlled intercontinental ballistic missiles of the previous generation. From the beginning, Minuteman missiles have provided a quick-reacting, inertially guided, highly survivable component to America's strategic deterrent program.
Through state-of-the-art improvements, the Minuteman system has evolved to meet new challenges and assume new missions. Modernization programs have resulted in new versions of the missile, expanded targeting options, and improved accuracy and survivability.
